Alexander needs Baby Pools
by gingermusicalphan
Summary: Alexander Hamilton needs a baby pool, or so he says. John Laurens is dubious. Laurens discovers a new nickname for his sweet baby girl. Fluffy modern AU following What the heck I gotta do
**A/N: I'm so so sorry. I had to.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Hamilton. Or a baby pool!**

They had only been dating for two months, following a certain incident with a turtle, but life had become the picture of domestic bliss for Alexander and John. They spent every waking moment in each other's company, and for the past few weeks, they had ended up sharing every sleeping moment too. In the busy lives of being students, they still found a way to dedicate every heartbeat to each other, and somehow, being in one another's company made even the most menial of tasks into something exciting.

Including their weekly visit to the supermarket.

* * *

Laurens always insisted on visiting the vegetable aisle first, where he would proceed to select the finest collection of greens, unintentionally spending ridiculous amounts on food which was not even intended for human consumption. Instead, he would dutifully pick the most delicious snacks he could see for his beloved pet turtle, fondly named George, the one thing in his life for which his affections challenged the intensity of his adoration for Alexander Hamilton.

"You do realize everything tastes the same to him, right?" Alexander teased without fail every week, without any genuine irritation: he knew how much Laurens loved that turtle, and no amount of protest would ever convince him to withdraw the expensive treats, regardless of how perfectly his boyfriend might be able to form the arguments against it. Not that he ever _would_ begrudge him the opportunity to spoil the small creature, because he found Laurens to be decidedly adorable when he fed and petted him.

"Shut up, he's far more sophisticated than you give him credit for!" Laurens would retort, earning a roll of the eyes from Alexander, which gave him the perfect excuse to slide up behind the young man and wrap his arms around his waist as he pressed a soft kiss to his neck in an attempt to chase away his false frustration.

For that reason, the vegetable aisle was always the most time consuming part of their visit, in spite of the fact that neither man was particularly partial to vegetables. The rest of the shop seemed to pass by quickly, almost regrettably fast for a task which both had found tedious in the days before they went on a joint trip. Except, that is, for a day when Alexander, not unlike a stubborn toddler, set his heart on a certain object:

"John," he murmured, voice insistent and with a slight sense of urgency about it as he tried to convey exactly how much the item which had suddenly commanded his attention required his boyfriend's interest.

"What?" Laurens asked, glancing up from where he was struggling to debate between coco pops or captain crunch to turn around and look at the opposite shelf, where Alexander's dark eyes were firmly fixed, pupils dilated.

Alexander said nothing, only continued to gaze with an unreadable expression at the thing, leaving Laurens to ask, "Alex, why are you staring at that baby pool?"

Reluctantly, the other man tore his eyes away from the pool and turned his penetrating brown orbs to his boyfriend. His voice did not falter as he explained, "Laurens, it takes a lot of trust for me to ask this of you. But I don't have the money, and I need you to be serious about this... I need a baby pool."

Naturally, Laurens released an involuntary bout of laughter at whatever bizarre joke his lover was pulling. It took him a few moments to recover his breath enough to gasp, "Why the heck do you want a freaking baby pool?" The sunny glow of his grin and the sparkling humour in his golden eyes took any scorn out of the accusatory comment, and he patiently awaited some kind of explanation for the undeniably weird request. But gradually, his teasing smile faded into a more serious frown of confusion as Alexander hesitated to respond, only turned back to stare at the baby pool. "Alex? Seriously, what's up?"

He took a few steps across the aisle as though an invisible force compelled him to move closer, and a clouded look overcame him as he murmured, "I don't want one. I _need_ one, John. Laurens. Please," he looked around, using his deeply affecting puppy dog eyes to plead with Laurens for the one thing his heart desired so deeply. " _Please_ can we get one?"

Laurens couldn't bite back another chuckle of amusement at the obvious longing in his boyfriend's eyes, but struggled to regain his composure to face the issue with the amount of serious and genuine consideration Alexander clearly believed it warranted as he queried, "Why exactly do you need one? You know I don't mind spending fifteen dollars on you, but do you really expect me to just buy you a baby pool without even knowing why?"

A hint of irritation overcame him at having to elaborate, but he knew it was a worthwhile thing if it aided his aim. So he sighed heavily before explaining, "We never had these in the Caribbean."

"Alex, that's because you had the sea surrounding you on all sides," Laurens replied, exasperated. Even the mischievous, playful young man had limits for what he considered acceptable behaviour in a functioning adult, even one who looked as sweet as Alex did with that sulky frown on his brow.

"Does that mean we were undeserving of a childhood filled with happiness and baby pools?" Alexander retorted with altogether too much ferocity for a debate about a paddling pool.

"No, but it also doesn't mean you need to reclaim your childhood now you're an adult!" As Alexander glowered immovably, Laurens pointed out a small notice on the box, "Recommended for six to thirty six months... You're nineteen, Alexander, I swear you won't even fit!" He chuckled at the idea, but his lover failed to see why exactly this was merely a joke to the other man.

Alexander's voice was little more than a threatening growl as he murmured, "It's only an age recommendation... I'll manage, somehow."

By this point, Laurens was beginning to lose hope of resolving the issue without actually purchasing a toddler's toy for his full grown boyfriend. A final appeal to Alexander's senses saw him pointing out, "Neither of us has a garden, and when you inevitably break it and send water all over the place, your apartment is the one getting flooded."

Alexander smirked, sceptical at Laurens' pretence of maturity as he justified, "I survived a hurricane. I don't see a flooded baby pool as anything more challenging than that."

As befuddled as he felt, Laurens had to adore Alexander's childish insistence. And seeing there was literally no option to deny him the baby pool without causing an argument of colossal proportions, he conceded, "Fine."

Instantly the look of stubbornness he always adopted during a debate dissipated to be replaced with an excitable grin, and his eyes resembled small galaxies with all the joyful sparkling light suddenly appearing within them. He grabbed the large box and shoved it into the cart, earning a plaintive groan from Laurens as it fell on top of George's tomatoes. But his frustration would not withstand the sight of Alexander's infectious delight, and he chuckled indulgently as he watched his boyfriend adjust the box so as not to ruin their pre-selected groceries. His own beaming smile matched Alexander's as he asked, "You're really desperate for the baby pool, aren't you, baby girl?"

He'd never used that nickname before, and the way Alexander visibly stiffened as soon as the teasing name left his lips, he began to regret saying it at all. Slowly, he turned to face Laurens, his eyes inexplicably dark and not a trace of his smile remaining on his mouth where it had fallen slightly agape, as though the man who could never refrain from talking had somehow forgotten it was even there at all.

"Alex..." John began apologetically, unnerved by Alexander's bizarre response.

But his boyfriend cut him off as he murmured, "Call me that again."

A blush had risen to his otherwise indecipherable face, and that paired with Alexander's request was what caused Laurens to recognise that those dilated pupils and general look of being removed from his senses reflected Alexander's desire, no longer for the baby pool, but for Laurens himself.

A smug grin spread across his face as he feigned innocence, blinking wide golden eyes as he teased, "Call you what?"

"You know what," Alexander answered lustily, pulse slightly elevated at his newly discovered love of that nickname.

Laurens raised an eyebrow in amusement as he offered, "Baby girl?"

That repetition was all the prompting Alexander needed to fling his entire body weight against Laurens, causing the other man to stagger backwards and grasp Alexander's body to steady himself as the shorter man pushed an aggressive kiss against his mouth and gripped his face between his hands, forgetting the baby pool which had bewitched his young heart, forgetting that they were in public, all thoughts fleeing his mind but the desperation to feel Laurens against him and to hear him say that he was John's baby girl.

When they finally broke apart to breathe, Laurens couldn't resist a suggestive whisper into Alexander's ear of, "You like that, _baby girl?"_

Alexander stepped out of his embrace with a teasing smirk and selected a box of captain crunch, his favourite cereal and the last item he needed in his trip to the supermarket. Laurens followed him with a look of puzzlement on his otherwise satisfied face, and attempted to reclaim his position of being pressed tightly against his beautiful lover. But Hamilton shook his head, and with a wink, suggested, "Let's pay for all this and go back to mine. I guess you can see how much I like it once we've set up the baby pool."

And then Laurens was laughing loudly, thoroughly delighted by the unprecedented turn of events. But he knew his boyfriend, and that look he gave him was nothing less than a promise that he truly would in fact demonstrate the kind of raw lust that nickname evoked within him as soon as they were in that pool together.

And suddenly, the baby pool didn't seem like quite such a ridiculous purchase.

* * *

Unfortunately, things didn't quite go according to plan:

"John!" Alexander whined from where he crouched, half of his body squeezed tightly together and somehow trapped firmly inside the pool while the other half flailed helplessly in a feeble attempt to free himself, with water too cold for the experience to possibly be any kind of pleasurable splashing around the bathroom as Alexander thrashed wildly like a little lion caught in a trap.

Struggling to speak through his streaming tears of laughter, Laurens gasped, "I did _try_ to tell you!"

"Please, Laurens, help me," Alexander moaned, reaching out for the young man who neatly stepped out of reach from his soaking wet touch.

"It's not _my_ fault _you_ didn't look at the dimensions!" He chuckled, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame, perfectly happy to observe the entertaining sight of his boyfriend desperately trying and miserably failing to escape the confines of a child's toy. _Trust you to pick the smallest baby pool ever,_ he thought. _I don't know why I ever argued, this is worth every penny._

Taking a pause from his frantic squirming to catch his breath, he gazed pleadingly into Laurens' sunny eyes, shoulders slumped with defeat as he begged with an excessive touch of melodrama, "Please help me. If you could just reach the plug and release some of the air... I don't think I can do it without you."

Laurens rolled his eyes, still grinning, and reluctantly approached the pool. He knelt down beside it and fumbled underneath to find the plug and pull it out, setting free some of the air from the inflatable. Then he reached to where the deflating edge met Alexander's bare skin, and slowly pulled it down his thigh.

"My hero... My dear Laurens," Alexander complimented as he patiently awaited Laurens' gradual removal of the constricting plastic from his body.

Laurens smirked up at him when he had pulled the baby pool sufficiently far enough that Alexander regained his ability to move that leg once more. "Think you can manage from here?"

Alexander nodded eagerly, but he was too keen to escape entirely, and he hurriedly tried to stand, forgetting that his feet were still intertwined with the wet plastic on his bathroom floor, resulting in him toppling over without a shred of dignity into Laurens, landing on top of his lover and unintentionally shoving him into the floor with a shriek of complaint.

Nevertheless, with the damp Alexander barely dressed and lying on him, Laurens was in no position to complain. He smiled as the shorter man closed the small gap between their lips and softly kissed him, reaching up to tangle his hands in Laurens' hair. When they pulled apart, Alexander's eyes seemed to offer an invitation, but not one Laurens would accept immediately.

"Can we please just agree that your baby pool was a stupid idea?" Laurens checked.

Reluctantly, Alexander grunted, "Yes... But only because it was too small. We could get a bigger one -"

"Alexander..." Laurens scolded firmly. But not firmly enough that Alexander's pleading eyes couldn't turn it into a non-committal "Maybe."

Alexander smiled again, and leaned in for another kiss, mumbling as he did so, "I don't see why you're so dead set against it, look where it got us." He indicated their bodies, so impossibly close that they couldn't have gotten nearer if they'd tried.

A playful grin set Laurens' face alight, and he reached for Alexander's face, pulling their foreheads together and raising his eyebrows as he replied, "I guess you're right... _Baby girl."_

As Alexander's mouth fell forcefully against his own, Laurens reflected, _if this is what a baby pool turns my baby girl into, they're not so bad._


End file.
